Scheduling Help!

HI!  I do not think you schedule is to intense at all!   However if you or your kids feel to stressed out following it, try adding a snack brake between bible and math. 🙂    Hope I helped… GOOD LUCK!!!

I usually schedule my kids’ subjects at 5 minutes per subject per grade, so my second grader would do 10-15 minutes of each subject per day.  My 5th grader will be moving up closer to 30 minutes per day this year, and my 9th grader 45+ minutes per day.

I think that with short lessons, doing both Bible and History in the same day will be fine.

I know the lessons sound short – but at this age you are working on maintaining complete attention during the lesson.  My kids wouldn’t have been able to handle one hour of math in second grade.

Hope that helps you some!

It really is difficult, isn’t it, when we feel a need to complete everything and time doesn’t seem to allow?

I felt that same when my oldest was in Kindergarten, and I bought an intense packaged curriculum.  I wanted him to have the best education.  I wanted to challenge him.  I wanted to finish the program in one year – no ifs, ands, or buts.

In the meantime, though, he began to hate doing school.  We stopped having fun.  It was turning into a power struggle with my precious little one.  I had to take a long break and reassess what was important.

Now, several years later, I can say that I still understand how I was feeling.  I still do want a quality education for my children.  What I’m not willing to sacrifice in the process, though, is their love of learning.  For the past five years, since migrating to a more CM-style, I have kept my kids lessons short, we have savored books and enjoyed read-alouds, and I am careful to set expectations without overwhelming them.

Last year, for example, we finished up a Bible study that took us two years.  For many families it would have only taken one year.  That’s OK.  We read slowly, we dug into it, my oldest was even calling our parish priest asking theological questions.  He wouldn’t admit it, but he was learning and loving learning at the same time.  That’s a win.

My third child, I suspect, has mild dyslexia, and I understand your concern about reading lessons.  Definitely.  What I have found in her case is that short lessons help her remain focused and not dread the work.  We do 10-15 minutes a day, consistently, and she is making progress.  I don’t double-up, although I know that some people do, because her reading is not a race to complete, but a process in which she will continue to make gains for years.  Her love of learning, her interest in books and her creative mind aren’t something I’m willing to set aside for the sake of “finishing” the program on time.

And I do have to fight that instinct.  My instinct is to push.  I am type-A.  I like perfection.  It’s not “right,” after all, if we don’t do a lesson a day.  It’s incomplete if it’s not finished in a year.

But then again, so what if it takes my son two years to complete Algebra I?  He’s still on schedule to complete four years of math in high school, including trigonometry.  And what if my 10YO doesn’t like to read long books (like my oldest did) but really enjoys audio books?  Push him a little, let him read a chapter book over the course of a few months, and supplement with lots of audio in the meantime.  He’ll get there.  It’s fine.

(For what it’s worth, despite my shift in focus, all of my kids test fine at the year-end testing.  Three of them are consistently well-above grade level, and the fourth, who has some learning challenges, makes solid progress each year.)

So, in my experience, stick to short lessons.  Take two years to complete a program if you need to.  Value your kids’ learning styles and challenges, and, at the same time, remember what it is like to be in second grade.  With the exception of my 9th grader, we are all done well-before noontime (with an 8:30 start).

Make some fun memories and remember that learning is a process.  Light their fires to love learning.  I promise you, it’s worth it!

Well, as everyone else already said – your lessons are too long.

You said they’re reading that long because they’re “really behind” in reading. By whose standards? They’re only 7! Did you know that in many countries and under a few other education methods, and even in many homes in America, children don’t even start to learn to read until age 7? I’m sorry, but at only 7, no child is that “behind” on reading.  Also, Charlotte Mason didn’t even start spelling until grade 4, age 10.

So for starters, I would back off on reading. The more you force reading on them at a young age a) the more you’re going to stall their progress b) you run the risk of making them hate reading.

Whether they are actually truly struggling (as in they haven’t learned their basic phonograms yet) or just behind based on the American “Rush Kids Through Education” standards, I would a) cut the lessons back to 20 minutes MAX per day (not per session, but per day) and b) look at using a different program. It is very normal for children not to learn to read until ages 8 or 9. The most important thing at their young ages is to keep it light, fun, and more than anything just read to them. Also, ditch the spelling. It’s not necessary at their age. What I would recommend however, is using part of their reading lesson for their copywork lesson – that way they get a reinforcement of what they’re learning. And yes, this recommendation stands even if they have dyslexia. In fact, I’d say it’s even more important.

Also, your math needs to be chopped, at least down to 30 minutes. It’s great that they enjoy math. I’m sure they’ll enjoy a shorter session, too 😉 Just because a child can sit for an hour, does not mean it’s developmentally appropriate for them to do so. They might be tolerating it now, but you run the very real risk of burning them out down the road. If nothing else, you’ll free up time for other subjects. And again, that’s 30 minutes tops – if they’re not severely struggling in math (basically as long as they can count), then there is no need for a second session.

With just those two subjects, you have freed up an hour. Your history is fine, keep it to 20 minutes if you can, but 30 is fine as long as they are enjoying it.

As for Bible… if much of the time is just being spent drawing/coloring (at their will, as in they enjoy it and they want to do it, not you are telling them they have to do it because the book says they do), then I would actually say keep the 45 minute Bible lesson. But if they do not enjoy it, then I would find a way to cut back on that, too.

So there, your reading, math, Bible and history have just been accomplished in 2.25 hours. Easily done by noon for the day.

You do not need an art curriculum or lessons. A) They’re drawing for their Bible lesson every day B) They’re 7. Let them color, draw, paint on their free time.

Likewise, they do not need music lessons. Unless they themselves have asked to learn to play an instrument, do not add this to their list. Get them a kid’s set of instruments that they can play with in their free time. That’s enough.

Handwriting should be 5-10 minutes tops per day. Handwriting without Tears is a great program, but Simply Charlotte Mason offers great books too. Or, just use copywork (see my comment above about using part of their reading lesson for copywork). Again, 5-10 minutes MAXIMUM. This is very important, especially for boys, and I would actually keep it to 5 minutes. It is far better for them to produce 1-2 neatly written letters, than it is for them to produce a sloppy sentence.

Now for the “studies”: nature, picture, poetry, hymn, composer. I just listed 5 topics. There are 5 days in a week. Voila! Focus on one per day. And these are the easiest subjects of all, short and sweet. I’ll give you the same advice I was given:

– Picture study: Buy the Charlotte Mason kits sold here. Put the picture on the wall, introduce the artist, read a quick bio on him. Voila, picture study is done.  Change the picture every week or two. Every now and then read a short story on the artist is you want.

– Music study: Introduce the composer, read a short story or bio,  and play a cd of his songs as background music during your lessons. Play the cd in the car as you travel. Done.

– Hymn study: Pick a hymn and once a week practice singing it once. Done.  (Also, this counts as “music” for them).

– Poetry study: pick a poet, introduce him, and once a week read a couple of his poems. Done.

See how quick and easy those are? Easily completed in 5-10 minutes. Don’t try to make them more than they need to be (best piece of advice I was ever given). At this age it’s about slow, consistent exposure, not mastery or deep involved discussions and introspection. A great way to do these subjects is when you are all gathered around the breakfast table: have the picture on the wall by your table, play the music while you eat, sing the hymn when you’re done eating, or even while you prepare breakfast, read the poem after you’re done eating etc… That’s ALL you need to do, and it is so easy to do. Just do one topic per day.

As for Nature Study: in grade 2, Nature Study IS your science. There is no need for an extra science program until age least middle school. So, do history 4x a week, and do Nature Study 1x a week, likely in the afternoon. Go outside for a nature walk, then come back inside and let them draw something they saw, and have them tell you one sentence about what they saw on their walk, write that out for them, and then let them copy it into their nature journal with their drawing. If that is too much writing for them, then they dictate the sentence to you as you write it in their journal. If they want to learn more about something they saw – then read up on it (I highly recommend you invest in the Handbook of Nature Study for this). And voila, done and done. That’s ALL you need to do. Very simple and easy. And it IS enough. You are teaching them the most important skill of all for anyone in science – the skill of observation and paying attention to detail.

Now, if you really struggle with getting outside and doing this, or you really feel the need for something that says “Do this”, then you could look at getting the Nature Study guides sold here: Outdoor Secrets would be perfect for their age, and just use those.

I keep seeing you say they’re behind – but oh, dear mother, they are only 7! They are NOT behind, they’re just starting. I’m curious why you feel such pressure, why you feel the need to rush them through this, why you feel they are so severely behind that you’re subjecting all of you to this pressure and this schedule? Education isn’t a race, it isn’t about everyone finishing the same goals at the same time. Children learn at different speeds and when you try to rush that, you end up doing very real damage. You will either make them hate learning which is the worst possible thing you could do, and you could actually impede their learning. The best way to approach learning is “slow and steady”. Learning is cumulative. And the most important goal at this age is that they learn to enjoy learning.